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Boston Dynamics SpotMini

The founder of Boston Dynamics, the robotics company that creates walking metal machines recently showed he has a funny side. It would seems he believes that we cannot beat the machines so we might as well coexist with them. The engineering and robotics design company plans to launch its canine-like SpotMini bot next year.

Massachusetts-based robotics firm Boston Dynamics will be on pace to produce 1000 machines by 2019. “The SpotMini robot … is one that was motivated by thinking about something that could go in an office—in a more accessible place for business applications. Or in a home, eventually,” co-founder Marc Raibert said during TechCrunch’s TC Session: Robotics event in May.

The 2.75-foot-tall, four-legged machine with the mobility of big brother Spot, also has an added ability to pick up and handle objects using its claw-like arm and perception sensors. Considered Boston Dynamics “quietest robot” yet, SpotMini can carry a 30-pound payload while operating for up to 90 minutes on a single charge.

“We’ve built 10 by hand, we’re building 100 with manufacturers at the end of this year, and at the end of 2019, we’re going to begin production at the rate of about 1,000 a year,” Raibert said. “And we think we can go further,” he said recently, adding that the arm extension is an additional cost. “There’s a lot of factors that make this successful as a product, and we’re working on all of those.”